The Simple Freak
by suplexlibelus
Summary: The best freaks are made by nature. The worst are made by name alone.
1. 0

"My name is Pica."

Elegant fingers brushed a few strands of blond hair aside, piercing eyes settling on the unknown girl's sickly thin figure. With pale skin, heavy-lidded eyes and a friendly smile curling her lips, the girl was undoubtedly normal. A cloud of smoke erupted from between Elsa's red lips before she crushed the cigarette against the table and stood up. The stranger's smile seemed to widen as she drew near.

"It is a pleasure my darling, but there is no Show today I'm afraid..."

The girl giggled, her raspy voice quite unpleasant for the older woman. She kept smiling, listening to Ethel's heavy footsteps. The girl kept her lips tightly shut in a cheerful smile, her eyes, big and round and innocent, staring into hers. The large shadow of the Bearded Lady darkened the contours of the youngster's face and her eyes flickered for a moment to Ethel before returning to the blonde.

Sighing, Elsa brushed some dirty strands of thick hair out of the girl's face, her thickly accented voice betraying how tired she truly felt.

"Darling..."

The girl's lips trembled. "My... ." Her eyes began tearing up. "...name... ." Her face twisted in pain. "...Pica."

The elder women watched, a slight twitch of their lips the only reaction, as the thin cracked lips gave in, unraveling large curved teeth that pierced the girl's cheeks, tongue and skin. The first rows, overgrown parasites of the originals had been obviously broken off and were now growing rapidly, forcing her to raise her head as they touched her collarbones.

In front of her, Elsa smiled.


	2. 0,5

**AN: A big thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed and all that jazz. It really made me want to write more.**

**This chapter is more of an experiment. I don't know if I like it or not so I would appreciate some opinions.**

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><p>A dull buzz disturbed the silence of the colorful tents. Large curved teeth now forced the youngest girl's face into a permanent grin.<p>

"... I am very pleased, my dear girl!" Elsa smiled as her nail knocked lightly on a white stub of a tooth that had begun piercing it's way through the girl's cheek bone. "Do they hurt?"

A small pitiful grunt escaped through the entwined teeth. The girl wanted to nod but her head was kept firmly in place by the large hands of The Freakshow's very own Lobster Boy. Brows knitted in concentration, his mother, the Bearded Lady, carefully shaved the girl's skull. Sharp baby-teeth were thusly revealed, enclosing the girl's head in an enormous mouth.

"No matter my little Pica... ." Her eyes, the only part of her face she could move anymore, raised to meet the older woman's. Her smile was kind but devoid of honesty and, somehow, this only made the girl trust her even more.

* * *

><p>"Her eating habits must be kept in line, Elsa!"<p>

Hearing her name, the woman stopped the projector.

"She broke into Bette and Dot's trailer! It's a good thing Dot is such a light sleeper... . She had already begun chewing at the mirrors."

A heavy sigh left the German's lips before she spoke. "Where is she now?"

"I sent her to apologize."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure? This does not look... tasteful."<p>

Dot scowled slightly as she craned her neck to follow the small teenager twirling around them. Bette shushed her but was promptly ignored as Pica stopped to tie the long piece of silk around their waist.

"Won't Elsa be mad?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Dot registered the other girl shaking her head. Of course she'd say no...

"Elsa wouldn't be angry with us!" Bette's words were spoken with a smile. "She told me we are her brightest stars."

* * *

><p>The fat man's body was already torn to pieces as she reached the clearing. A musky scent of blood covered ground marked the man's undug grave. She had promised Dot she would make the body disappear for good, before it was found by anyone.<p>

Comforting the Conjoined Twins proved a task more difficult than she thought. With Dot screaming and Bette wailing, the twins' body did not know what to do. Arms flailing about like a living marionette, the girls flung themselves at the walls, into furniture and into her.

For the first time in her short life, the youngster did not know what to do. She did not want to hurt Dot or Bette, she couldn't call Jimmy-Lobster Hands for fear of what would happen while she was away and, if the noise kept up, it would attract Elsa's attention.

Only seconds seemed to pass as she saw the twins' body plunge towards what was left of the mirrors and as she flung herself towards them. A loud grunt escaped both girls' lips as their chests met, the bed giving an alarming wail as they all landed on it.

She had tried keeping her sharper teeth far from their body but she still noticed small scrapes and scratches in the place where their necks met. Silently thanking Jimmy for making his arrival known with loud bangs into the door, the teen scurried away, leaving the boy to treat and comfort the twins. The least she could do to pay for all the troubles was to put the their minds at rest.

The clown watching the body made her stop for the briefest of moments. He looked evil but, then again, so did she. So did everyone she knew.

The morning sun rose to an empty, unstained field of grass. Several meters further, a teenager, her face obscured, retched her guts out in some bushes.

* * *

><p>With wide and shiny eyes, the Metal Eater clapped along with Elsa's husky voice. The older woman was fixing her makeup, her heels clicking around her luxurious room.<p>

A smile as genuine as she seemed capable of curled her lips as she hummed and sang, swirling elegantly around the seated teenager who clapped childishly for her.


	3. 1

She liked Jimmy. He was a swell guy, really! He wanted the best for everyone, but even she knew that was not enough.

Counting on Jimmy to lead them was like counting on her to lead a car factory. Jimmy was young, impulsive. He would spiral down into an abyss of depression and self-loathing as soon as something, anything, will go wrong. And really, something was bound to go wrong.

It was the freakshow after all...

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><p>She had seen the strange trailer pull up near the tents from her place, high between the branches of a tree. Her stomach had been aching lately, maybe from hunger, maybe from something else. Bette had told her that grass cures such aches. She was thoroughly chastised by Dot but she didn't really wait to hear why, leaving the twins to their writing and sun-bathing respectively. Grass was too much even for her, so she settled for leaves, climbing a tree for this purpose.<p>

Out of the car that carried the trailer, a funny-looking egg-shaped man climbed out, opening the door to a beautiful dark skinned woman. They both entered Elsa's tent.

Quickly, she slid down the tree, only to see Ethel leaving hurriedly. She wiped her hands on her shirt as she approached the twins, kneeling in front of them and slightly shaking them to get their attention.

"We don't know..." The smiling Bette grew silent under her sister's stern gaze, arranging her yellow scarf awkwardly as Dot leaned them both down. "Maybe it's for the best."

With a frown, they all glanced at the trailer, before settling their gaze on Elsa's tent.

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><p>Bette singing was a pretty sad sight. She liked music, she liked to hear the women sing, but when everyone tells you you are drunk, you go home. She busied herself with Ma Petite's hair, doing her best not to look at the scene. She did sneak a peak from now and then and Jimmy's face almost made her laugh. It must have hurt Bette however, since she stopped right after.<p>

Everyone began complaining and screaming at each other, the egg-man and Elsa talking about something called a matinee.

Dot sang. Dot sings like an angel, but Bette was so sad...

* * *

><p>The police arrived at the freakshow. They took Meep.<p>

She did not really understand what was happening. If she had to guess, Jimmy was in some kind of a feud with the egg-man. And it ended up with Meep being taken.

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><p>That weird man came to the tents again. She had seen him hanging out with Jimmy and probably ended being thrown out. She had followed him a bit, if only to see his house. He lived in a large, beautiful mansion, bigger than any house she had ever seen. She remained hidden in some bushes, just staring at something she could have never had.<p>

A few hours passed. She had fell asleep but, when she woke up, she saw that creepy clown running from the creepy man's mansion. A few minutes later he followed.

She stared blankly, before running after them. A girl screamed and she stopped, jumping into some bushes again.

The clown looked at her, before retreating into his trailer, followed by the creepy rich man, a kid and a girl.


	4. 1,5

Her silent footsteps carried her along the laughing groups of children. She offered them a slight smile, cringing slightly as pain shot through her gums again. The kids always liked her for some strange reason, even now when she was mostly silent. They made her happy. She was happy.

With a slight nod of her head she followed the group, her own little pumpkin-shaped bag swinging lazily in the tune of her steps. To the kids' delight, the family proved very kind giving them heaps of candy, laughing and joking with them. She waited patiently for each and every one to receive their treats, made sure they thanked the kind people and turned without another word, ready for the next house.

A warm melodious voice stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned, accepting the woman's candy.

"What are you dressed as dearie?"

A spark of pain so rough it made her ears ring made her cover her mouth with her hand. Catching herself, she let it slide down, smiling gently at the woman. "A mistake."

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><p>"Why, dear..." A crack of light made her open her eyes, reducing her attempts to wave away Elsa's voice to nothing. "There surely must be more comfortable places to sleep in than this chest!"<p>

A whine escaped her unmovable lips as, trying to raise her head, she found her teeth captured by the thick wood. It took several minutes of silent pleading for Elsa to finally go fetch someone that would get her out of there.

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><p>She never considered herself an angry person, although some people might beg to differ. She looked angry, perpetually so as she was after all a walking hazard but, with the current length of her teeth, she can't even open her mouth without help.<p>

Her 'screams of anger' were only silent, almost non-existent grunts now. Besides eating everything in sight, screaming was her only way of releasing pent-up stress and with the Freakshow turned into a bad soap-opera story, she needed that. Elsa, not to mention Ethel and Eve were not allowing her to destroy random things to calm down, they did not want to hear about eating outside of the show and, even worse, they were trying to coax her into eating normal food she couldn't even chew.

The last straw came with an unknown blonde woman, a fortune teller, became increasingly interested into the length of her tongue, getting Lobster-Boy in for the ride as well.

Huffing, she wiped the blood from her gums onto her shirt, pushing herself into the tree she had been chewing on to test it's stability. A few hard shoves and it fell with a loud thud. Well, in case something happens with the Freakshow, she'll be able to take a job as a beaver.

She did her best to laugh at her own joke, aknowledging the clown passing by with a curt nod.

* * *

><p>A strange man passed by her tree as she listened to Elsa singing.<p>

She guessed she had to wait...


	5. 2

The trailer in which she stood awkwardly, watching the beautiful dark-skinned woman pour herself a drink, gave her a strange feeling of unrest. Her feet tapped loudly on the floor, her eyes continuously searched the room for an angry egg-man and, to top it all off, all the metal made her stomach churn.

She jumped when a glass full of liquor hit the table before her. Wide eyes searched the older woman's, whose outstretched hand offered her a bag of ice. She forced herself to swallow as she felt the coldness creep up her skull, occasionally joined by the woman's fingers.

"Don't let Elsa see you like this. She is enough of a bitch without knowing her carnies are attacked by random clowns in the woods..."

The young girl gave a sideways glance, quickly averting her eyes as the woman's dark ones met hers. "Are you sure hitting you was everything he did?"

She nodded.

"Do you want me to check?"

The last thing she saw was the woman's smile as she rubbed her hand on her dress to warm it up. The last thing she heard was her low laugh as she scrambled out of the trailer.

* * *

><p>"Hey!"<p>

In the darkness, a loud clank signaled Jimmy he had been heard. "Don't worry, I'm not here to keep you from eating... Again." He shifted in the silence that followed. "Knock yourself out..."

A screech of metal being torn in pieces finally broke the silence.

"You want some company?"

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><p>She had met the strange man several times. He seemed polite enough so she was as polite as she could too, curtseying to both of his faces every time she passed by the place he seemed to prefer staying next to. Elsa's tent.<p>

Only herself and Ethel seemed to aknowledge his presence, which seemed strange to her. She had to admit the second face was quite rude and outright creepy, ignored even by Ethel who seemed to prefer not aknowledging its existence. The man himself seemed very upset with his other face so she didn't blame the Bearded Lady.

Only when the man began leaving Elsa's tent, appearing out of the blue behind her as she tried to get something to eat, did he began scaring her.

He had begun trying to start a conversation and something told her he wasn't too pleased by her perpetual silence.

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><p>She had heard Bette crying numerous times already, mostly as Dot slept or screamed, herself, in anger. Jimmy had told her she was jealous of Esmeralda, but she honestly doubted that was all. She knew Elsa was quite jealous of Dot's singing, especially after the egg-man Del Toledo pushed her out of her place as a main attraction, so she found it near impossible for the older woman not to have something to do with their arguments.<p>

The twins unsettled her now, especially Dot. She had always been rude, but Bette did not deserve this.

Something told her they were doomed...


End file.
